‘Gaviria misinformed about shabu menace’

MANILA, Philippines - Former Colombia president Cesar Gaviria is “not only an idiot” as described by President Duterte but also “misinformed” about the state of shabu addiction in the Philippines.

Both Presidential Communications Operations Secretary Martin Andanar and Palace spokesman Ernesto Abella gave their separate takes on Gaviria’s statement, citing the difference in the two countries’ drug problems.

While Andanar said the former president was misinformed, Abella said Gaviria did not get accurate reports of what was happening in the Philippines.

Colombia is plagued with cocaine and marijuana while the Philippines is dealing with shabu addiction, which Duterte claimed has already affected four- to five-million people.

“I think president Cesar (Gaviria) is misinformed. In the first place, he said  ‘it won’t work, I’ve tried it before.’ But he should take into consideration that the context of the war on drugs in Colombia (is) cocaine and marijuana. The effect of cocaine in one’s body is different from the effects of shabu. The meth (shabu) is mixed with the chemicals used for (car) batteries, which shrinks the brain,” Andanar said in a radio interview.

Shabu, he added, brings out the demon in a person.

He disputed claims that the Duterte administration merely resorted to killing drug suspects as he explained that the President and the Department of Health have outlined comprehensive solutions to address the drug problem.

Instead of criticizing Duterte, Andanar challenged Gaviria to visit the Philippines, specifically Davao City where the anti-drug campaign has gained some success, and understand the context of the drug problem.

In a separate briefing, Abella echoed Duterte’s statements that Gaviria does not know the context of the Philippine drug war.

“However, as (Duterte) says, the Philippine problem involves drugs that are chemically laced with battery water. So, there’s a world of difference between the two as far as he is concerned … the Colombian president’s comment regarding the Philippine situation is not accurate,” Abella said.

Benjamin Reyes, Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) chairman, also defended the country’s war against drugs, saying it is incomparable to the “mistakes” made by Colombia as the Duterte administration is taking a different and “more comprehensive” approach.

He said the only similarity between the two campaigns is its drive against illegal drugs, but both are using “totally different” approaches in arriving at a solution.

The Duterte administration, he added, is implementing a balanced campaign because of its enforcement and community-level rehabilitation and prevention initiatives, while Colombia’s campaign was anchored solely on enforcement.

Gaviria had advised President Duterte, through an opinion article in The New York Times, to avoid the mistake he made in his deadly campaign against drugs in the 1990s.

Gaviria wrote that the police and military should not lead the anti-drug campaign as this would only spawn violence and victimize ordinary people.

Reyes believes that the comparison between the drug war of the Philippines and that of Colombia, which was funded by the US to destroy cartels, stems from a wrong public impression of the campaign.

The Philippine campaign, he added, is being perceived only in terms of killings and law enforcement.

He admitted though that the estimated 7,000 persons killed throughout the course of the seven-month old drug war is an “unfortunate side effect” as he gave assurance that the administration is already taking steps to address it.

The DDB chairman added that they have studied all campaigns, including that of Colombia and other countries, and hope that the Philippine model could be cited as an effective approach in the future.

“We follow the general strategies of the United Nations but, of course, (we suit the) Philippine campaign to conform with our culture, with our available resources. We can say that ours is unique,” Reyes told reporters.

In using the Philippine setup, authorities considered the “urgency of the problem” mindful that shabu, the country’s widely abused drug, needs a more urgent solution.

“The two countries have different abused substance of choice. It is shabu here and cocaine and heroin in Colombia, which require different interventions. There is urgency when it comes to shabu,” Reyes said.

He is optimistic that the revised National Drug Strategy would rationalize the administration’s approach and serve as a “service framework” to the drug campaign. 

Yesterday, the DDB and the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) inked a memorandum of agreement to implement a program that would prevent the proliferation of illegal drugs in urban poor communities.

“This is a community-based empowerment against drugs,” PCUP chairperson Terry Ridon said in a news conference.

Under the agreement, both agencies would work to train urban poor organization leaders and harness their capabilities in the fight against illegal drugs. The program would also identify and provide alternative activities to people susceptible to drug abuse.

The concept would first be tried in Metro Manila and other major urban centers before it would be applied to the rest of the country.

Only about 12,000 of the country’s four million drug users are confined in 48 government and private drug rehabilitation centers nationwide, Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial said during the first Dangerous Drugs Summit the other day at Clark Freeport in Pampanga.

Although the number of those undergoing rehabilitation is low, “it is still within the acceptable worldwide trend of one percent severe cases,” she added.

Reyes said the low population of those inside rehabilitation centers could be attributed to the stigma attached to being treated in these facilities. – Christina Mendez, Romina Cabrera, Ding Cervantes, Emmanuel Tupas